


Crying in the Rain

by Just_your_casual_nerd



Category: The Good Place (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - The Good Place (TV) Fusion, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Falling In Love, Friendship/Love, Graphic Depictions of Illness, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, I Blame Tumblr, Idiots in Love, Love, Love Confessions, Multi, Other, Rain, Sad, Sad Ending, The Good Place (TV) References, The Good Place (TV) Spoilers, Tumblr, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:13:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26236951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_your_casual_nerd/pseuds/Just_your_casual_nerd
Summary: The gang fucks up, can they make things better with Michael before things get worse?  Will Michael finally, finally tell Eleanor he loves her?
Relationships: Chidi Anagonye & Eleanor Shellstrop, Chidi Anagonye/Eleanor Shellstrop, Janet (The Good Place) & Jianyu Li | Jason Mendoza, Michael (The Good Place) & Eleanor Shellstrop, Michael (The Good Place)/Eleanor Shellstrop
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	Crying in the Rain

**Author's Note:**

> I dont own anything related to the Good Place or any of its charters. Long Live Hellstrop!!

Love is so complicated and comes in a variety of ways. There is love between a sibling. Love between family members. Love between friends. And there is love between two people that is so beautiful it is hard to explain. In my best words, love with another person is like being high and that every time you see them, speak to them or even think about them, you feel this emesen love and caring that seems like it will never end. 

This is the love that Michael, resident demon and part of team cockroach is feeling now. 

Every time Michael looks, talks and thinks about Eleanor it is like having his whole body filled with love. It scares him.

Rebot #768 was when Michael realized that he was in love with her. It seemed for the millionth time Eleanor had figured out she was in the bad place, but he couldn't have cared less. All that mattered to him was to be next to her, to study and learn about her in every reboot. To be near and close to her. To have her by his side once again. 

And after all this time, between his four humans going back to life, to them doing their final experiment, and to finally, finally being able to get to go to the good place, Michael would have thought his love would have faded.

Boy was he wrong. 

Michael's love for Eleanor grew every damn day he was with her. They would be out in the park enjoying their frozen yogurt and Michael would look into her eyes and it felt as if his heart grew ten times its size. 

Every time they went bowling and she crushed him at it, Michael wouldn't care. He would receive any number of defeats from Eleanor only if he could watch her radiant with happiness.

Every Time they had a sleepover and re-watched “friends” Michael would look over at her and he would feel this deep sense of love and rightness that came from knowing her. 

But also with this love for Eleanor came a sense of depression with it. Knowing that Eleanor would never love him the same way he loved her. 

And everyday when Michael would see Chidi and Eleanor together, hand in hand laughing, smiling and kissing, Michael would feel this utter crushing sense of depression throughout his whole body. 

Of course Michael was happy for them, he would wish nothing but the best for his family, but it still hurt him to see them happy together knowing that he will never have what he fully wants. 

And when Michael couldn't take the pain he felt everyday anymore, he went to the judge. Michael had asked the judge for a space that he could call his own. A place where he could retreat to when the pain got too much and he could go somewhere by himself and recuperate. 

That's when the judge granted him a small house that held a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen that was situated near a never ending lake. This place, known as Michaels safe place, was situated a little bit away from where he held his experiments with Eleanor and the gang.

Michael loved it there. He filled his little house full of all his little knick knacks that he had collected over the years. He had his bowling ball, the ugly yellow toddler thing and of course, his paper clips.

Michael would retreat to his little place when he thought no one would notice. Usually Jason and Janet would be off on some sort of adventure. Chidi and Eleanor would be having movie dates that ended in a lot of sex. And Tahani was usually around talking to some famous old relative. 

It was times like these that Michael felt truly alone. He had no one to go home too, no one to talk to or hangout with. It wasn just Micheal all by himself, like it always has been. And as time went on Michael found himself staying at his house far more than he was with his family. 

While Michael was at his house he would re-watch some more episodes of “friends” or branch out into some other tv shows like “Dead to Me” or “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.”

If Michael wasn't found watching tv shows you could usually see him reading “To kill a Mockingbird” or “The Name of the Wind” and recently he has gotten into the book series “The Bear and the Nightingale.” Other than reading and watching tv shows or movies, Michael would go on long walks. He would walk to the mountains on the far left of his house, or walk through the grass lands to the west of him, or through the apple orchard to the south of him. 

When Michael went out walking his thoughts usually drifted towards Eleanor. To the way she would to talk, to the dimples on her face. To the way her face would light up when she saw shrimp. Michae would think of how nice it would be to kiss her. To hold her while she slept. To just breathe her in and never, ever let her go. 

And sometimes, when Michael couldn't handle it anymore, he would let himself cry. To feel all the pain he felt everyday knowing that the person he loved could never be fully his. He would let himself feel the pain and anguish of being left alone. There were times when he came back to his house and Michael's face was super red and blotchy. He could hardly breath through his nose and snot was getting everywhere. 

All Michael could feel was pain, sorrow and loneliness. 

.

.

“Heyyy Bud!! Ready for some fun in the sun?!” Eleanor asked as she entered Michael's office.

Eleanor couldn't remember the last time her and Michael hung out together. All her time had been spent with Chidi. But lately they have been going through a rough patch and she needed a distraction from it all. So naturally, she came to see her best friend. Though it appeared that he was gone. 

“Michael… ooohhhh Michael!! Where are you?” But no reaction came. Eleanor was alone in Michales office, which was unusual. Michael was usually there working on some new thing with the judge or he was making paperclip bracelets. Either way, he was never gone from his office unless he was with one of the gang.

“I wonder where he went,” Eleanor said softly to herself. She was starting to get a little worried as she walked past his desk to see if he had left a note or if there was any sign that something bad had happened. But there was nothing, his desk was clean except for a thin layer of dust that had resided on it. 

Eleanor looked down at my Michael's desk and wiped a finger across it and looked at the dust trail she left. 

“That's odd” Eleanor said. “I didn't know there was dust in the Good Place…. Janet!” Eleanor said. 

"Bing"

“Hi there!” Janet said in her happy voice. “Is everything ok?”

“I dont know” Eleanor said to Janet and she faced her from behind Michael’s desk. “Do you know where Michael is?” 

“Michael is at….is at…” Janet looked at a loss of words. She didn't know where Michael was, she could place where everyone was expect for him. That wasn't right. “I actually don't know where he is.” Janet said.

“You dont? Babe, you know where like, everyone is. Stop playing with me.” Eleanor said, starting to get worried. Janet never did not know where someone was. 

“Eleanor, I assure you that I am not playing with you, I simply cannot find Michael anywhere. All my scans I have done indicate that he isn't anywhere in the Good Place, Bad place or in between. It's like he just vanished…. I don't know what to do.” 

Janet was getting worried, this isn't normal. She didn't know where Michael was and didn't know how to find him. Did someone from the bad place take him? Is he being tortured, his lims slowly getting torn off of his body? As each of these thoughts raced towards Janet's brain she progressively got more worried. 

“Ok, we gotta think rationally here” Eleanor said, trying to keep calm. “Maybe you just didn't scan right. Or he could be with the judge doing some architect things, or maybe he decided to go back down to earth and explorar some more and get more bowling balls. 

Even as Eleanor said these things she knew they weren't true. She knew Janet did make mistakes, she would have found him already. 

“My scan was right, I couldn't find him anywhere. Besides, Michael would have left a note if he was going to earth.” Janet said.

“Yeah, I know.” Eleanor said. She was lost, didn't know what to do. Michael has never dispersed like this before. He always told her or Janet where he was going or what he was doing.

“Maybe...maybe we should go talk to Jason, Chidi and Tahani. Maybe they can help us find Michael.” 

“That's a good Idea, it would be better if all of us were together to solve this problem.” Janet said. 

“Ok,” said Eleanor. “Can you bring us to them babe?” 

“Of course, right now they are all at Tahani’s helping her pick out a dress.” 

As Janet said this she stepped closer to Eleanor and took ahold of her hand and binged them to their family. 

“Bing”

“Hi guys!” Janet said.

“AHH!!” Chidi yelled. 

“Fork my forking Blokes!!” screamed Tahani. 

“Sup my not a girl.” Jason said. 

“You really musnt scare us like that Janet, I almost tripped in my dress. You know this was a hand made dress given to me by Princess Diana, and I will not see it ruined.” Huffed Tahani. 

“Sorry Tahani, but we have a little problem.” Janet said. 

“What's the problem? Please tell me everything's ok and no one is getting sent to the bad place!” Said Chidi. 

“No no, no one is getting sent to the bad place. The problem is actually about Michael.” Eleanor said. 

“What's wrong with Michael? Is he ok?”

“Well….. He’s missing…” As Eleanor said this everyone's face seemed to drain of color.

“He’s Missing” said Chidi. “Oh, I have a Stomach ache, oh boy…” 

“Eleanor, please don't play any games with us. Michael cannot simply be missing. He wouldn't do such a thing. Janet, would you please scan for Michael so we can find him.” Tahani said, turning towards Janet. 

“I'm sorry Tahani, But I've scanned for Michael three times already and I cannot find him.” said Janet, her face falling. 

Jason walked over to Janet and gave her a hug. “Maybe something bad happened and Michael had to leave.” said Jason, still holding Janet. 

“I was thinking that too, But why wouldn't he tell us? Where his family.” said Tahani as she tried not to cry.

“I don't know babe, nothing makes sense. I walked into his office and nothing was out of place. It was like he just vanished out of thin air.” Said Eleanor and she looked down at the ground. 

Chidi walked over to her and held her hand. “Does anyone remember the last time we saw him?”

They all looked away from each other guilty. No one could remember the last time they saw him. In fact, no one could remember the last time they hung out with him or had a decent conversation with him.

They all sat in an uncomfortable silence that seemed to go on for years until Jason finally spoke up. 

“Yo, maybe we should ask the judge. I mean, she’s like, all powerful and knows everything. Wouldn't she know where Michael is?”

Everyone looked up at Jason in stunned silence.

“Ya’know, that might actually work. I don't know why we didn't think of that before!” Said Eleanor.

Everyone had a new sense of hope. The judge could help them get their resident demon back home where he belonged. As everyone got ready they all made a silent vow that they wouldn't forget Michael again.

.

.

“You know, you guys are kinda crappy friends.” The Judge said. 

Everyone stared at her with a stunned look on their faces. 

“I mean, Michael has been gone for four Bearimys and you guys just now noticed.”

“Michael's has been gone for four Bearimys….” said Eleanor.

“Yup, and you foolish humans didn't even notice. No wonder he asked to leave, I wouldn't want to be around people who forget me too.” said the judge as she finished eating her Burrito. 

The gang just stood there, watching the judge. They couldn't believe that it has been four Bearimys since they last spoke with Michael. They didn't even notice he was gone, what kind of friends were they?

Tahani looked like she was about to cry and she moved away from the judge. “I can't believe it's been so long, what kind of monster am I? He is one of my dearest friends and I treated him like rubbish for not noticing he was missing.” 

Chidi and Jason didn't say anything, they just slumped down to the floor with tears in their eyes. Janet and Eleanor looked at each other, guilt rolling off them in waves. Out of the six of them, Eleanor and Janet were the closest to Michael. He always went to them for advice or to just hang out. And for them not to notice that Michael had been gone for so long was like a gut punch to their stomach. 

Eleanor walked up to the judge and looked at her. “Can you please tell me where Michael is. I….all of us need to make things right with him.” 

Eleanor had never felt this much guilt in all her life and after life. Michael meant so much to her, and to know that she forgot about him like a piece of trash made her insides twist and burn.

The judge looked down at Eleanor as she wiped the last remaining sauce from her burrito away from her chin. She gave Eleanor a cold and calculated stare as she determined if Eleanor and the gang were worth telling them where Michael was. 

At last she gave in.

“Michael has a little house near where he once experimented on you guys. You can only get there by train. I will let you guys go to him on one condition.” the judge said.

They all looked at her with hope in their eyes. “Anything, we will do anything to see Michael again.” Said Eleanor.

The judge stared down all five of them and said “Michael has become my friend and is someone I respect and care for. If you five do anything more to hurt him, I will make sure your punishment will be one full of pain and torment. Do I make myself clear?”

It was like everyone's mouth ran dry at the judges' words. They knew that she would act upon her promise if they hurt Michael more than they already had. No one dared speak out against her. 

Tahani cleared her throat and looked up to the judge. “I promise you, judge, that we will do what it takes to right the wrongs we had thrust onto Michael. We will not hurt him again.”

The judge seemed pleased with her answer. “Ok, you may go to the train, it will guide you to where Michael is.” At that the judge dismissed them from her chambers and the five of them walked through the door in her room that took them to the train station.

They all boarded the train, and as the train took off Eleanor stood up and turned to look at everyone. 

“Guys, we’ve done something really bad. We forgot Michael, and probably made him feel like we didn't care for him or love him. But that's not the case. He is a part of our family and we have to show him we love him.” 

“I agree with Eleanor, we are shit friends and we deserve whatever punishment he gives us. We have to make things right and show that we care.” said Tahani, tears glistening in her eyes. 

“Ethically, we did something wrong. And Plato tells us that we must make things right so that our path may be clear and we can once again be together as a family.” said Chidi as he looked towards Eleanor. In turn she sent him a small glare and turned her head away from him. Missing the small disappointed look that graced his face. 

“Yo dude, he helps make the base drop in my heart, we need to make him feel the same way.” said Jason as he looked towards Janet.

Janet looked towards the rest of the group with a sad smile. “We have about an hour until we reach Michael's house. I suggest we think about what we will tell him.” 

After that all of them sat down in their seats. Eleanor sat near the window and looked out beyond the landscape and saw that it had started to rain. Chidi read one of his ethics books and kept stealing small glances at Eleanor. Tahani sat by Janet and Jason and had a quiet conversation with them. 

The train ride seemed to drag on forever and it was a slight relief for everyone when they finally made it to their stop. As they got off the train they noticed that it was raining big and heavy drops of water. 

Janet walked up to Michael's door and everyone followed suit. When they got to the door Janet gave the door a firm knock, but nobody answered. Again, after a couple of minutes Janet knocked again, but no answer came. 

“Michael, are you home? It's me Janet, everyone is here. We are so, so sorry for everything we have done. Can we please come inside?” Again, no answer. So, Janet gently twished the door handle and the door gave way to show Michael's living room. They all walked inside the house and Janet turned to them and magically dried them from the rain. 

“Bud? It's me Eleanor, can you please come out and talk to us? Really, we just need to talk to you, everything is ok.” Eleanor received no response. 

“Michael, Michael where are you?” said Tahani. She received no answer as well. The house was quiet. 

“I wonder where he is.” Said Chidi. 

“Maybe he went out for a walk in the rain, that's what I used to do when I was sad.” Said Jason.

They all looked around for signs that Michael was here, but found nothing. So they decided to walk into the kitchen and take a seat at Michael's table. 

“If he is out there, then we will wait for him to come back.” Said Eleanor.

They waited for over two hours for Michael to come back, and just before they were going to give up they could hear Michael's door open and close. They all jumped up from their seats in the kitchen and ran to meet him. What they saw was a sad sight.

Michael had gotten skinnier, his hair had grown out longer and he now supported a beard across his rugged face. He looked so tired and drained. He wore a pair of loose fighting jeans and his gray sweater that were soaked from the rain.it looked as though he had been crying.

As he looked up to see his company his face drained of color and the surprises. 

“Um, hello guys? What are you all doing here?” Asked Michael.

Eleanor moved towards him and looked up. 

“We are here for you, Michael.” Michael gave her a look like he didn't believe her. Everyone's heart sank at the sight.

“No you're not. Shouldn't you all be back in the good place having the time of your lives?” said Michael as he moved around Eleanor towards his kitchen. 

Eleanor was stunned, she had never heard him talk this way before. She spun on her heels and walked towards Michael again and pulled his arm so that he spun around and looked at her. 

His face held no emotion, but his eyes held a different story. She could see the pain and suffering in his eyes, the look of disbelief and rage coursing through his eyes as well. But the one thing that scared her the most was the look of depression he wore. He had given up. Given up on them, on his family. He didn't want to live anymore. Didn't want to exist and deal with all the pain he felt everyday. And that scared her, frightened her. 

“Michael, Are you ok?” Eleanor said as he turned his face away from her to look outside. 

Eleanor put her hand on Michael's sharp jawline and guided his face back to hers so she could see his eyes. What had they done to Michael?

And all of a sudden a sharp clap of thunder sounded outside and all the lights went out, leaving them in total darkness.


End file.
